Rep. Jayapal to U.S. Senate Democrats -- Fight!
Influential, progressive U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., feels minority Democrats in the Republican-run Senate should put up their dukes.
"My belief is we've got to fight," Jayapal told Netroots Nation, a national progressive gathering whose annual conference drew 3,500 people this year.
"We can't have the Senate doing these big bipartisan votes. We lose leverage in the House . . . If we lose, we lose fighting."
A big $4.6 billion aid package for security at the U.S.-Mexico border, passed two weeks ago, prompted Jayapal's criticism. The Congresswoman is herself an immigrant and sharp critic of conditions under which children are being held.
The Democratic-run House laid out conditions on the aid package: No waiving of requirements for how children are held.
Private contractors, getting $750 per child each day, would have contracts blocked if they do not deliver humane treatment.
The Senate went ahead and voted for a package without these requirements. Only eight Democrats voted no.
Faced with the overwhelming Senate vote, and under pressure from moderate Democrats, the House caved and voted for the Senate version. (Jayapal and Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash, voted No.)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rep-jayapal-to-us-senate-democrats-fight/ar-AAEhJzk
While I see Jayapal's POV I'm wondering if this is a case of the perfect being the enemy of the good.
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